Fallen
by one-falling-up
Summary: Set after the battle with Harribel. Hitsugaya wakes up inside Aizen's hospital after a near-death incident and finds out that... they couldn't have... made him into an Espada, right...? R&R
1. Discovery

A cascade of crimson erupted from the sky. A small, insignificant figure plummeted from the air… crashing down, down, down…

The beautifully crafted ice shards once resembling wings cracked and shattered into a million tiny pieces, littering the ground with melting flakes and blood.

Blood.

Hitsugaya knew he was dying. His body was shutting down, his once treasured bankai fading into a reminiscent ghost of the past. With each painful thump of his heart, he slipped away farther and farther away, to the deadly point of no return. Even though it was excruciatingly painful, he swept his gaze across the horizon, searching for the one thing that was causing his death.

The arrancar dropped to the floor with a loud thud. She was breathing heavily. Weak, she rigidly rotated her head to face Hitsugaya. Her dark face observed him with cold superiority as a single eye fell from its socket and rolled onto the floor with a bundle of loosely connected nerves and scarlet.

"This… is a draw," she rasped in shallow, labored gasps. Then her figure disintegrated into a fine black dust, churning and blustering away with the fierce winter gale.

Hitsugaya knew his time was coming soon. He observed the sky with a casual manner, despite his grave state. He waited for the blow of death to come. He would miss Matsumoto… and Momo… and Granny… Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat. He raked his lungs for air, but there was none left. Sandpaper was rubbing against his throat. He couldn't breathe. Black spots danced in front of his vision. He heard faint cackles, tuning in like a radio, then vanishing at the next moment. Death was coming. Perhaps he was hallucinating, but he thought he saw the silent, deadly gleam of a steady blade.

A figure was standing above him. Hitsugaya could make out a wicked smile and a bone mask. Its face flashed on and off, but he caught the light reflecting off sharp cerulean hair.

"My, my. What do we have here?" drawled a cruel voice.

He looked up to see a figure with crossed arms before his breath gave way, and Death opened his arms as he escaped into a temporary oblivion.

* * *

><p>- A few hours later…<p>

"He's in a critical condition."

"Probably won't live, huh?"

"Got to give it a try. Lord Aizen will be pissed."

At the sound of Aizen, Hitsugaya shot up from the white linen cot he was lying in. Pain immediately erupted from his left shoulder and right collarbone. He tried to move his mouth, but something uncomfortable was pressing against his jaw. Where was he?

Then everything rushed back to him- Harribel, the deathly match, dying…

Wait. He wasn't dead!

"Kid, sit down!" someone hissed.

Hitsugaya glanced up. It was an arrancar. He had strong, muscled brown arms and a weary stare. A mask reached from his collarbone to his right lip. He glanced around him furtively. He was inside an infirmary. Arrancars bustled about, shuffling files and wielding deadly-looking needles. Aizen! Aizen was holding him captive. He reached for Hyourinmaru, but his hand closed around a silky material. The silver blade was gone. Right. Aizen wouldn't leave him with a deadly weapon.

"Let me go!" he hissed. Pain exploded in his chest. He coughed. Scarlet drops peppered the white hospital scrub he was dressed in. Wait… was this a hospital scrub?

He fingered the soft cotton material. It looked exactly like the uniforms the espadas wore.

Suddenly, a gruesome thought writhed through his mind. They couldn't have… they wouldn't… would they? He did feel terribly hungry.

"Kid, sit down!" A strong, tanned arm pushed him onto a fluffy pillow. He slowly moved his pale hand to his chest, sickening dread dripping from his mind.

His hand went through, the white linen ballooning around his fingers.

Mechanically, he moved his hand down to his waist, where he immediately felt a peculiar tingling sensation. He peeled back the cloth carefully and froze. He saw the beginnings of a black tattoo. Emblazoned on his thin hip was the beginning of a number three.

The arrancar in front of him gave a grisly grin, his mask stretching up with his ghastly facial expression. "So you finally figured out, eh?"

Hitsugaya couldn't speak. His mouth tasted like pennies. How… how could they…

He turned to the bedside mirror lying beside his cot.

A loud scream exploded from his lips.

Feeling faint, his head dropped onto the pillow with a thud as the blackness swallowed him up, leaving nothing but trepidation.

* * *

><p>Okay! That concludes the first chapter. I'm really sorry, I know it's super short, but I wanted to indulge in the ending. I hope you enjoyed it!<p>

xoxo,

kookiefrivolity~

PS PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW okay. Thanks.


	2. Unfortunately

_He was standing in the middle of a vast, icy plain. A single figure flickered in and out of view in front of him. A long mane of blue-green hair whipped around the stoic form. It turned. _

_ "Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya cried. He stumbled forward, tottering like an infant. _

_ Hyourinmaru regarded him coldly. Pale blue tear-like paint dripped from his eyes and down to his chin. His jaw was covered by a thin mask._

_ "What have you done, boy?" he wheezed. His eyes flashed from gray to red. "I'm- I'm-"_

_ His eyes blazed scarlet. He dashed towards Hitsugaya and swung._

_ Then he was falling, falling, falling…_

He was awake. He was lying on a fluffy bed with white sheets. Breathing hard, he glanced around furtively. For a minute, he wondered why he wasn't nestled in comfortable tatami or how to explain the absence of Matsumoto's never ending snores.

Then it all came rushing back to him: the battle, waking up in the hospital, and… finding out he was a… Shaking the thought from his head, he glanced at the nightstand standing sentinel beside him. Snatching up the mirror propped up near a pitcher of water, he slowly peered into the smooth pane.

A white mask adorned the left half of his jaw and brushed his hairline. With trembling hands, he lowered the mirror. Then, with a brief moment of insanity, hurled it at the opposite wall. He waited for the telltale crash and anticipated the splintering shards, but nothing came. Confused, he glanced up.

A girl was standing in front of him. She clutched the mirror between her hands, and her pale face curved into a half smile. Her long, glossy black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she was dressed in a pure white kimono. A zanpakutou was fastened to her hip with a sash, along with an oddly shaped object tied to the fabric of her garments. Her brown eyes surveyed Hitsugaya with an unsettling interest.

"You know, you shouldn't go around throwing things," she stated in a matter-of-factly voice as she glided to the nightstand. She placed the mirror back onto the surface. "You're still healing. It shan't do well to break your bones again."

Speechless, Hitsugaya stared at the girl. "How did you… there was no one in the room-"

"Honestly. Use that petty imagination of yours for once!" the girl harrumphed. She crossed her arms. Her form shimmered for a second, then melted into the surroundings. "Honestly I can do something," she said from somewhere around the room.

"You mean… you mean… you've been watching me sleep the whole time?"

"Yes. And I would like you to know you drool in your sleep. You'd better stop that terrible habit."

"This isn't the time for this!" Hitsugaya cried, agitated. "They've made me into an arrancar! And not just any old bloody arrancar, but Espada number three!" He focused her gaze on her. "You're not one of them, right? Because you have no ma-"

She turned around and lifted her ponytail from the back of her neck, revealing a line of small bony teeth. A number three was plastered on the edge of her shoulder.

"Oh. But-but I thought I was number three?"

"That idiot Barragan went and got himself killed by that Soi Fon twerp. Now only Szayel, Starrk, Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, and Grimmjow are still alive. And me, of course." She lifted up her palm. A three was painted across the flesh. "So I was pushed into your slot and we redid your tattoo. We're running low on forces; that's why we tried this new experiment. I remember a while back there was the same incident and experiment… " She faltered, a quizzical expression evident on her face. Then she quickly rearranged her features. "Never mind," she muttered.

"Tell that bastard to get back here and fix me right. There is no damn way I will serve him."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Too bad," she whispered. "We have our ways."

And with that, everything went black and she disappeared into a sliver of moonlight.

* * *

><p>Two hours later<p>

His head hurt. He opened one eye blearily, then saw that he was once again in the clinic. The tanned arrancar was looming before him.

"You're awake? Good." He bustled about, then returned with the familiar blade clutched in his hands, which he promptly dumped on his lap. "Aizen has a mission for you. Get ready, brat."

Hitsugaya gripped Hyourinmaru. Something about it was different. Was it… heavier? Never mind.

"I'm not going on any mission," Hitsugaya said stubbornly. "I'm returning to Seretei."

"Like that? Don't make me laugh, boy. They'll kick you out in less than a minute."

He was right. Hitsugaya knew he would inevitably be killed.

"I'm not working for Aizen," he insisted. He kicked off the blankets and stood. "It was also dreadfully ignorant of you to hand me a weapon." With one deft move, he yanked Hyourinmaru from its sheath and whipped the silver blade at the arrancar. He waited for the impact, but nothing happened. "Wha-" His hand was frozen.

"Your blade is working for Aizen," snickered the arrancar. "It will not touch an ally. Likewise, it will automatically slaughter any enemy that comes in the way."

Hitsugaya cursed under his breath. So that was what happened to Hyourinmaru. He had been taken over by Aizen… Why had he lost that stupid battle in the first place? He should be back in the tenth squad barracks right now, drinking green tea and yelling at Matsumoto. Why in the world was he going on a stupid mission for Aizen?

A single tear dripped down onto his lap. What had he done to deserve this?

"Don't worry, prissy. You'll love the mission." The arrancar leaned in close, as if to whisper a secret. "You are to assassinate Momo Hinamori."

* * *

><p>Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Yay! And thanks for the wonderful suggestions. Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been on vacation in Texas, riding wild boars and swinging my lasso. Just kidding, hitting the shops~ And I know I messed up the order in which the arrancars died and I'm sorry for my Mary Sue-ish OC, it's just that I need all this stuff for it to work together. And yes, I'm sorry for the sucky placement of masks and the not-so-subtle imitation to Starrk for "the girl's" mask. Not good with that kinda stuff. R&amp;R!<p>

xoxo,

kookiefrivolity


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